Nacogdoches and SFA representatives participating in Nacogdoches-SFA Day in Austin are pictured at the capitol with State Rep. Wayne Christian of Center. The event is organized by the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee.

SFA to host Showcase Saturdays for prospective students

Future college students will have the opportunity to experience a taste of campus life during two free, action-packed open-house Saturdays at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches on Feb. 26 and March 26.

Prospective students will get to visit with university faculty and staff, tour the campus and residence halls, and preview academic programs during the two SFA Showcase Saturday events.

“There is no better time than Showcase Saturday to visit the beautiful SFA campus and experience first-hand what it’s like to be a Lumberjack,” said Monique Cossich, executive director of enrollment management. read more

SFA alumna to share entrepreneurial story of California winemaking business

SFA alumna Dianna Novy Lee, co-owner and co-winemaker of Siduri Family Wines and Novy Family Winery, will share her entrepreneurial story, as well as some tips on the etiquette for drinking, tasting and serving wines, at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, in Room 133 of the McGee Business Building. Interested students and faculty and staff members are invited to attend.

The 1992 marketing graduate, along with her husband and partner Adam Lee, once shared a dream of moving to California and making superb Pinot Noir from the finest vineyards one could find. With their unique business model and a belief in their specific viticulture practices for growing and harvesting grapes, their dream became a reality with a start-up venture in 1994.

Today, their winery, Siduri Wines, sources grapes from the premier growers and vineyards of California and Oregon and has received national recognition in publications such as Savor Wine Country magazine and The Wine Advocate. From its modest beginnings, the winery has grown to offer more than 25 different Pinor Noir wines each year, and the couple’s business now has the largest Pinot Noir focus of any California winery.

The Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the Department of English and SFA Press, presents Kim Addonizio in a poetry reading. Addonizio is the author of five collections of poetry, two books of nonfiction and two books of prose. She was a National Book Award finalist and has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Education Association Fellowships and a Pushcart Prize for her poetry. Her latest book of poetry is "Lucifer at the Starlite."

SFA University Women's Club: Party in Paradise
9:30 a.m. | Saturday, March 5
Shelley's Bakery | 112 N. Church St.

You don’t have to travel far to enjoy an exquisite Caribbean meal. Benefiting university students, preview the latest styles by The Fashion Shop. Tickets are $25, and proceeds support the UWC scholarship fund. For more information, call Erica at (936) 468-2368 or Jannah at (936) 676-0906.

Mix and Mingle
6 to 7:30 p.m. | Tuesday, March 8 | Cole Art Center

Career Services is pleased to announce the first Mix and Mingle event to be held on the eve of the Spring Career Expo! Join us from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the Cole Art Center for an evening of networking, as local and national employers attending the next day's Spring Career Expo gather to recruit SFA's top talent.

Tell your
students they must RSVP here to attend this powerful networking event, which is open to only 75 of SFA's best and brightest. Please encourage your students to attend this premiere event, as it only happens once a semester! Faculty and staff who would like to attend can RSVP to Jenny Davis at jldavis@sfasu.edu. Professional dress is required; dress in business or business casual attire for this stand-up affair. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.

College of Fine Arts Events and Exhibits

The SFA School of Theatre will present a student-directed production of “Tom and Jerry” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19. All performances are in the Downstage Theatre located on the first floor of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. Taken from Jim Geoghan's collection Only Kidding, "Tom and Jerry" offers an inside look at the life of a stand-up comedian. As the play's director, Weslaco junior Jonathan Garcia explains, the audience gets the feeling that it isn't all laughs when comedians meet. The play is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are $3 each.

Winners of the SFA School of Music's annual Concerto/Aria and Composition Contests will be featured during SFA's Orchestra of the Pines' Center Stage concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in Cole Concert Hall. Flutist Megan Beard (Denton senior), tenor Josh Dennis (graduate student from McKinney), pianist Yuki Kumamoto (graduate student from Japan), and trombonist Ashley Scambray (Houston sophomore) will perform as soloists with the orchestra, directed by Gene H. Moon. The orchestra will also perform a three-movement work composed by Athens junior Lee Treviño. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $7.50 for faculty/staff and $5 for students.

The SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Dr. Eric Varner in a guest bassoon recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, in Cole Concert Hall. The recital is free and open to the public. Varner, who is the principal bassoonist in the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Windsor, Ontario, and teaches at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, will perform 20th century works by French and American composers. Dr. Susan Nelson, SFA faculty bassoonist, will join him in presenting one movement of "Sonata for two bassoons" by Francisco Mignone.

OngoingEdge of Life: Forest Pathology Art is currently on exhibit in the Ledbetter Gallery of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329. E. Main St. in downtown Nacogdoches. The exhibition, which is a collaborative project between the SFA College of Fine Arts and the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, features artists from the SFA School of Art and ecological artists from across the nation. The show will run through Saturday, March 26. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.

OngoingRufus Butler Seder: LIFETILES is currently on display in the Reavley Gallery of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St. The exhibition features “Movies for the Wall,” optical glass-tiled murals that appear to come to life, change and move as the viewer passes by. The show runs through Saturday, March 26. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.

OngoingA Forest Insect Alphabet, which features 56 woodcuts and text used in the book of the same title that was printed by SFA 's LaNana Creek Press, will reopen in Griffith Gallery, Room 208 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Charles Jones, retired SFA professor of art, created the woodcuts of various forest insects, and Dr. David Kulhavy, SFA professor of forestry, wrote the text for each. Local musician Miki Lynn put the text to music and recorded a CD that is included with each book. The exhibition will run through Friday, Feb. 25. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.

Erase crayon marks in seconds: If your pint-size Picasso creates a crayon masterpiece on your living room wall, stir together 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon water until the mixture is the consistency of toothpaste. Using a damp white cloth, apply the mixture directly to marks and gently rub in a circular motion until they disappear. Soaplike compounds in baking soda dissolve coloring agents, while its mild abrasives buff away greasy crayon wax without damaging walls.